Elizabeth Chapman

A great guide, beautiful view and delicious food around a campfire – I love Africa for the simpler things

Specialist countries: Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya

Liz is in the UK and usually available:

UK time: 8:00-17:30 Tue & Wed; 9:00-15:00 Thur & Fri;
See our office hours and locations.

More about Liz...

My first taste of travelling somewhere exotic began when I was about 15 years old, when I spent a month in Mexico, and absolutely loved the buzz of doing something different every day. After I finished school, I set my sights on Africa, and did a three-month overland tour around Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. We spent about half this time in the foothills of Kilimanjaro, before heading on to hike, bungee-jump, scuba-dive, quad-bike and much more around the remaining countries. After a few more months travelling around Australia, New Zealand and Asia I returned to the UK to start university.

While studying economics at Exeter University, I took advantage of the long holidays to explore other corners of the world across Asia and travelling through Europe. After graduating, I packed up and moved to France to spend 6 months working in the Alps, before swapping the snow for the sun to spend 2 months doing marine conservation in the Seychelles.

I returned to London in 2009 to join the Expert Africa team where I spent almost 2 months every year exploring Africa - highlights include trekking gorillas in both Rwanda and the Congo, climbing Kilimanjaro, chimpanzee trekking in the remote Mahale Mountains National Park, and fly-camping in the Selous.

I spent the last few years working for an East African supplier, learning how the industry works from the other side, and am now returning to Expert Africa with new found knowledge and enthusiasm!

I now spend the majority of my time helping to expand and develop our website and back-of-house systems, but am looking forward to my next trip back to Africa!

Talk to Elizabeth now to arrange a holiday

Elizabeth's most recent Africa trips

Kenya

Jan 24 6 nights

An incredible short but jam packed holiday to the Mara and Kenyan Coast in the green season. There had been vast amounts of rain due to El Nino in the months prior to the trip, so we were a little unsure what to expect. However, we were rewarded with lush, green scenery, and some truly incredible game viewing, with babies everywhere! Week old lion cubs emerging from a bush, fly-camping at Naboisho, and paddleboarding the lagoons of Manda Bay, there were too many highlights to pick a favourite!

I visited: Nairobi, Maasai Mara Conservancies, Kenya Coast

Tanzania

Jun 18 7 nights

Having not spent any real time in Ruaha in almost 8 years I was thrilled to discover it was just as special as I remembered. We had some remarkable game viewing, especially given we went early in the season - including wild dog, leopard and more elephant than I could possibly try and count! Kichaka was far and away the highlight - it doesn't get much better than following a small group of elephants, watching, and observing, and then retreating without them ever having known we were there. A very special place indeed.

I visited: Dar es Salaam, Ruaha National Park

Namibia

Apr 16 16 nights

Having covered off Namibia's most popular areas on previous trips, it was time to explore some slightly more off the beaten track areas! This trip took me down through southern Namibia to the incredible Fish River Canyon, and over to Aus and Luderitz. There were some long, dusty drives, but standing on the edge of the Canyon certainly makes it worth it - it was spectacular. Lüderitz was a sleepy little place, but I loved the Zeepaard boat trip, and would highly recommend it to anyone who ventures this far.

I visited: Southern Namibia, Fish River Canyon, Luderitz, NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Swakopmund & Walvis Bay, Windhoek

Elizabeth's previous Africa research

Country	Arrived	Length of stay	Areas visited
Tanzania	June 2015	5 nights	Nyerere National Park
Namibia	January 2015	13 nights	Windhoek, Namib-Naukluft National Park, NamibRand Nature Reserve, Swakopmund & Walvis Bay
Namibia	May 2014	16 nights	Windhoek, Swakopmund & Walvis Bay, Skeleton Coast & Kaokoland, Damaraland, Etosha National Park, Okonjima Nature Reserve, Central Highlands
Kenya	September 2013	13 nights	Nairobi, Meru National Park, Samburu National Reserve, Northern Kenya, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Maasai Mara Conservancies
Tanzania	June 2013	14 nights	Fanjove Island, Tanzania Coast, Arusha, Rubondo Island National Park, Katavi National Park, Mahale Mountains National Park
Zambia	June 2013	8 nights	South Luangwa National Park, Lower Zambezi National Park
Kenya	August 2012	14 nights	Laikipia, Maasai Mara Conservancies, Maasai Mara National Reserve
Tanzania	July 2012	6 nights	Ruaha National Park, Nyerere National Park, Dar es Salaam
Zanzibar, Tanzania	February 2012	14 nights	Stone Town, Pemba Island, Michamvi Peninsula, South-west Zanzibar, Mafia Island, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania	October 2011	12 nights	Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti Migration Area, Arusha
Rwanda	August 2011	13 nights	Kigali, Akagera National Park, Volcanoes National Park, Lake Kivu, Nyungwe Forest National Park
Tanzania	May 2011	12 nights	Arusha, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti Migration Area
Tanzania	June 2010	10 nights	Nyerere National Park, Ruaha National Park, Mafia Island
Seychelles	April 2010	7 nights	North Island, Mahe Island, Fregate Island, Denis Island, La Digue Island, Desroches Island
Tanzania, Zanzibar	March 2010	12 nights	Nyerere National Park, Northern Zanzibar, East Coast Zanzibar, Michamvi Peninsula, South-west Zanzibar, Stone Town

Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia

Contributor 7th edition 2009

I helped research the Pemba, Mafia and Stone Town chapters of this book. Our trip (in February) coincided with Sauti za Busara - a music festival in Stone Town. Dancing in an old fort surrounded by Maasai was a strange but amazing experience!